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DooWhitt tours
DooWhitt tours

DooWhitt tours

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  • DooWhitt toursValenciaDooWhitt tours

    Day 4

    15. april 2024, Spania ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Up 8ish. No run today so out for early walkabout. First stop was Ayuntamiento. Nice & early so pretty quiet. Again, fantastic decor & windows. Next stop Post Office. Waste of time - just a modern building. We didn’t bother with the cathedral - we’ve done many of them. Then to St Nicolas - our guide recommended it and said it’s their version of the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately only open for worship on Mondays so will have to save that for next time. Had a coffee then went to the market. Enormous and full of all kinds of local food & drink & souvenirs. Bought a pack of paella mix. Wandered a bit more and bought fridge magnet, T shirt & spatula then brunch in Los Toneles where we had breakfast yesterday. Had bocadillo de calamares and jamon y queso. Big & delicious.
    Back to the apartment to collect bags then easy trip back to the airport.

    Busy flight again. Airport doesn’t seem big enough for the amount of traffic. Landed on time. Straight into a taxi home.

    Flight price was €135.45 including resident discount. Seats were €60 so almost half the price!
    Apartment price was €372.60. It was perfect for us. Great location, cool and very quiet at night. Would definitely stay there again. Owner was very accommodating and let us check in early and check out late.

    Overall observations - very enjoyable weekend. Food excellent and reasonable price. Beer €4.50/€5 for pint. Expensive compared to what we’re used to but not bad for the 3rd biggest city in Spain. City is very manageable and not intimidating. Next time would probably try to miss Saturday. It was very, very busy and the evening was full of hens & stags and other parties.    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursValenciaDooWhitt tours
    1

    Day 3

    14. april 2024, Spania ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Up 8ish again. Andy went for a run. Out for coffee & toast for breakfast then had a look inside the Estacion del Norte. Fabulous building and full of history. Had a peek inside the enormous bullring (capacity 12,000) but couldn’t go in. Again, so much history and bullfighting still takes place here. It’s also a major concert venue - Tom Jones & The Pretenders advertised. Then easy Metro to seaside. Arrived about 12. Walked the delightful prom from one end to the other. Very busy on a hot & sunny Sunday afternoon. We were going to stop for Paella Valenciana but the restaurants were all very busy or booked so we got the Metro back to town. It was about 3pm by this time so we stopped at the first place we saw traditional paella advertised. Le Petit Montmartre - mmm. Possibly not authentic but it was in one of the lovely squares with lots going on. €13.90 each. Anyway, it tasted very good. Andy had a ‘cachi’ beer = stein. Haven’t seen or heard that before. It cost €11 which wasn’t too bad considering the size of it and the location.
    Home for quick rest & change then out again 5.30.
    Went to Beer & Travels to see if they’re showing Arsenal v Villa. Not. Had a Maeloc cider from Galicia. Second weakest on the list. €4.00. Very nice. Then got lost on the way back to The Lounge. These streets are demons! They did have the match on but Arsenal lost after Liverpool lost earlier. Big gift to City!
    Saw local religious parade in honour of St Vincent. I tried to Google what it was but couldn’t find anything. Our tour guide told us yesterday that the locals pay a fee to be Falleros & Falleras to celebrate their huge Fallas in March. The floats & statues cost € thousands and are often satirical. They’re all then burned at the end of the fiesta. Perhaps the Valencians dressed up tonight are getting their money’s worth out of their subscription.
    Had a beer on the way back home watching lovely fountain and people coming and going. €5.45 each. Then to New York where we went on the first night. Had a beer & lasagne, pork kebab & tortilla. Total €21.70. Delicious and enough after paella lunch. Home 9.30 for Guvnor. I’m on 9.5 miles, Andy on much more after run this morning. Had a lovely birthday.    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursValenciaDooWhitt tours

    Day 2

    13. april 2024, Spania ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Up 8am. Andy went for a run. Out for breakfast 10ish.
    Met for walking tour at 11am. A lot of people split across various language groups. Our group was about 30 which for us was too many. Patricia was very good but it was difficult to herd so many people. To be fair, it is a sunny & warm Saturday so there are a lot of locals and tourists around but the tour wasn’t the best. We covered all the main sights in the old town and she told us lots of the history. The river was diverted after the 1957 flood and was then abandoned for years. In the 80s, the plan for a major highway was thrown out and the redevelopment into a 9km leisure park began.
    After the tour, we sampled ‘Agua de Valencia’. Gin, vodka, cava & orange juice. It was lovely but just a tick in a box.
    We then went to check out 2 potential bars for football later. ‘Beer & Travels’ was perfect but they’re showing rugby & La Liga today. We had a beer and 4 montaditos each - peppers, tuna, cheese & tuna & potato salad. Total €20. Delicious.
    Then to The Lounge bar. Small & crowded but they’re showing Man U later.
    Wandered back via the Market (closed now). Went into La Lonja, the old silk exchange. Fabulous building then home about 4pm.
    Out again 5.30 to St Martins Irish bar (I know, we don’t do Irish bars) to watch Man U v Bournemouth. Didn’t bother with The Lounge from this afternoon. Good sports bar with lots of screens and Spanish staff. Only had one beer and left about 7.15 with Man U 2 - 1 down. The town has a totally different feel tonight. Very busy with locals, tourists and lots of stag & hen parties. We moved on to a relatively quiet street and had 2 beers & pizza. Total €41.60. Footie ended 2-2. Street got busier & busier as time went on. Spent the evening talking about what we’ll do next time we come here. We’ll definitely be back - absolutely love the city. It’s busy but not overwhelming and doesn’t feel oppressive or polluted. Home for vino & tv by 9.15. I’ve only walked 7 miles today vs 9 miles yesterday. Tired legs.    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursValenciaDooWhitt tours

    Day 1

    12. april 2024, Spania ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Up at 4.30am after evening out with Peter & Simon to celebrate Simon’s 50th. Big meal + vino tinto + 5 hours sleep not the best preparation but the journey went to plan. Fascinating to fly over snowy mountains.
    Metro easy to navigate and we were able to check in when we arrived about midday. First coffee at ‘Arrecife’ bar just around the corner. The apartment ‘Valencia Centro’ is great - very well equipped and close to everything. Went straight out for a wander - it’s a big & busy city but a lovely vibe. Streets, squares & buildings are fabulous. Weather is perfect. Stopped for delicious toastie & bocadillo and 1 beer. Just as well only 1 because it was 6.2%. €20. Back to the apartment about 2.30 via Mercadona for a few supplies. Rest, then out again at 5ish.
    Walked out to museum area and saw the new fabulous waterfront buildings - theatre, music, science & oceanographic aquarium. Loved the L’Umbracle arch which disguises the car park. The old river which flooded in 1957 is reclaimed as a huge park with sports grounds and family areas. A massive undertaking and not finished till 2003. No bars in the park that we found though!!!!
    Wandered back to town and struggled to find beer. Many places closed between 4 - 7 pm. No good to us! Back in the centre we had a couple of pintas (about €5 each but pint rather than jarra) then stopped at New York tapas bar. Didn’t like the name but it was a proper tapas selection so we sat at the bar and thoroughly enjoyed our food - total €25. Had tortilla de patatas, prawn & mussel salad, fried pulpo & bread. Bargain.
    Stopped for last beer at Arrecife bar. Andy had extra lomo, egg & chips. Biggest beer (doble said waitress!?) was only 33cl. They don’t accept cash over the bar - have to put into a machine and it gives change. Anyway, home 9.30. Glass of Guvnor from local Mercadona then bed.    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 32

    5. september 2017, England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Had a rest for couple of hours then Andy went to salon and I did washing. Not much really as we did most of it at Ally's.

    Tired but need to keep going till bedtime.

    Notes to selves -

    * Don't judge anywhere on first day
    * Don't buy out of date guidebooks!

    We've had a fabulous time - bring on the next trip!    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 31

    3. september 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Very sad that trip nearly over 🙁Final packing & check out. Complained that they charged us $18 for wifi - charge immediately cancelled.

    Left bags and out to Liberty Observation Deck. Got there just before it opened at 10am so very quiet. Good views of city and buildings.

    Quite a few vagrants on the streets and parks - almost all are black. Don't seem to bother anyone. Also the city where we have seen the most seriously overweight people. I have been generally quite surprised at the small number of overweight people in the US but this place is different!

    Wandered back towards Rocky steps. Still much clearing up going on so couldn't get near.

    Had awful coffee in. Logan Square watching kids playing in the fountain. Lovely hot day.

    Went to Devon for lunch. Lovely seat looking onto street and park. Had couple of beers, lobster bisque/clam chowder & crab/club sandwich. OK but felt like a cafe and service too quick. Prices also reflect cafe rather than restaurant but it was bank holiday lunchtime and very busy. Not cheap but ok.

    Left there 1.30 - very full and still hours to kill. Sat in couple of parks then went to find beer garden - big place but shut!

    Went to Irish bar next to McGillins - grotty back yard and plastic glasses then to Bru across the street. Heaven! Huge choice of beer and the England v Slovakia World Cup qualifier on tv. Sat at bar and enjoyed victory.

    Back to hotel 5ish. Driver waiting for us. Checked in fine and sat in lounge drinking gin & red wine and eating guacamole (which wasn't very nice really but the girl on the desk told us to get in there before it finished at 6pm!)

    Had some soup & snacks then called to board at 8ish.

    Glass of fizz, red wine, steak/panko prawns. Very nice.

    Settled down and slept 3 hours ish. Breakfast yoghurt & fruit. Andy had sausage quiche that he wasn't keen on.

    Landed 8.15ish but airbridge malfunction so took half an hour to fix.

    Bags off fairly quick. Home 9.30am. Dull and raining 😢    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 30

    3. september 2017, Forente stater ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Woke up 7ish. Strange night's sleep but fine. Still pouring outside but weather forecast promising great improvement.

    Tea & biscuits in bed. Opened curtains and watched grey skies lighten bit by bit. Couldn't even see the towers next door.

    Confirmed tour for this afternoon and complained that wifi rubbish. Not particularly helpful but said wouldn't charge us.

    Set off for walk 9.30ish. Went towards Rocky Steps (Philadelphia museum of art) but totally inaccessible because of Made in America concert on 12 - 12 today. Main stage covers the steps!

    Back towards Delaware river via Chinatown. All a bit grotty and quite uninteresting.

    Stopped at Victoria pub (Liverpool flags on wall🙁) had local Slyfox beer which was very nice and bubble & squeak/mac cheese. Very nice.

    Went to waterfront and expected it to be really busy as holiday weekend but it wasn't. Atmosphere didn't quite work. Lots of ships snd submarine there but not exciting. Lacks something.

    Wandered back to meeting point for walking tour @ 2.30. About 10 in group so quite manageable. Guide took us round major historic monuments of great importance to US. Liberty Bell, Ben Franklin's house, First US bank, Constitution Centre, Independence Hall, Elfreth's Alley. Full 2 hours after big walk this morning.

    Ended at Campos bar for free beer. Chatted to lady on tour here for business conference. Staying at Loews near us.

    Decided to share cheesesteak - so famous locally. Very tasty - chopped and griddled with onions & peppers. $10ish and another beer. Had to wait quite a while - didn't understand why because 2 cooks working v hard.

    Went for Phlash bus home. Didn't come so got different one towards home. Think it should have been $5 but we put 4 into machine and driver accepted that.

    Quick stop at hotel then out to 'oldest' pub in town - McGillens. Went yesterday and way too loud but tried it. Awful. Only 6pm but music blasting and place cold. Moved on to different bar. Much calmer and tried beer made with citrus and tonic water so was supposed to taste like g & t. It did rather! Quite pleasant.
    Then to Finn Mc Coos where we went last night. Had steak rolls & tacos. Tacos mighty spicy but tasty.

    Couple of beers then home 9.30.

    Drank rest of wine from last night.    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 29

    2. september 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    Awake early and up 8ish. John made bacon & eggs then we packed up and left them 10ish.

    Filled car and got back to airport with no trouble. Sparkles on my t shirt set off sensors so I had additional checks.

    Had coffee & cake then flight 1pm to Philadelphia.

    Quite a bumpy flight but only about an hour so no problem.

    Landed to torrential rain. Totally uneventful journey to Marriot - $35. We're on 22nd floor but gloomy view of grey skies! Shock to the system after the wonderful weather we've had most of the time.

    Nice big room, cup of tea with awful powder milk then out to find Irish Bar McGillins - supposedly oldest in town.
    Traffic busy, lots of grumpy drivers and puddles. Couldn't find pub so went in Fergie's Irish Bar. Diddly diddly band playing. Had beers $9.50 for two. Found McG but heaving and loud but still only 5pm ish so didn't stay. Went to The Bar - almost empty but was a bar and cheap and dry. $9. Then to Finn McCoos - sat at bar. $10 for 2 x 22oz beers (compared to 16oz before). Had shepherds pie and fish & chips. Perfectly ok and hit the spot on this cold & wet night. This rain is from Hurricane Harvey which has caused huge devastation in Texas. Shouldn't complain really.

    Went to 7/11 for milk, biscuits and wine. Don't sell wine!! Trudged round a bit and eventually found booze shop. Bought $10 wine then home 7.30ish. In bed to get warm by 8pm. Ate biscuits and drank wine watching 50 Shades of Grey. Rubbish film!

    Asleep before 10pm.    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 28

    1. september 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Up 8ish to help tidy up. Sunny day.

    Pulled up weeds & swept by pool. Looks much better.

    Andy played a bit of footie with Charlie - he's bored poor lad. This is Labor Day weekend so he is off school today and Monday.

    Did some washing, checked in for tomorrow and sorted clothes.

    Left over lasagne for lunch then walk round local area. Enormous houses (some well kept and some not), trees and driveways. Everything here is on such a big scale - rooms, cookers, fridges, garages, cars, basements, gardens and everything is full of STUFF. The size of everything just says 'work' to us but it's just a way of life here. No pavement to walk on and quite a few cars so not really pleasant to walk.

    Home 4ish.

    Out to Exeter 6ish. UFO festival this weekend and a few examples on show!! Called at beer place but very small and didn't really appeal. Went to Margaritas Mexican. Nice food & drink and finished with deep fried icecream, Mexican hat and birthday song from staff. $100ish. Very pleasant.

    Home 8.30. Sat out by Charlie's fire pit. Surprisingly cold. Had couple of glasses of wine & nice chat. Really lovely evening.

    Bed 10.30    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 27

    31. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Andy's 60th birthday. Phones started pinging birthday wishes from 4am!

    Opened cards (except mine! Don't know where it is!). Ally included a cheque in her card to pay parking fine - present nobody else can give. Very amusing. I got him WMM shirt and hat and hat for Tony too.

    Andy went for run then we set off for Newburyport. Lovely seaside town with big shipbuilding history. Had a walk about then delicious corned beef hash for lunch.

    Had boat trip for just the two of us with Cap'n Bob. Very good and interesting. Amazing houses on the Merrimack river.

    Back to car 3.30 and home via wine shop to buy Sebastiani wine, beer and small outside table.

    All sorted and back 5pm.

    Had very strong beer watered down with lemonade then Davey & Susie arrived but left the lobsters behind so she had to no back for them!

    Had nibbles then huge amount of lobster. Very, very messy! Lots of wine and chat, birthday cake and fizz.

    Told them our news and they will try to come.

    Bed 11ish. Quite a special birthday.    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 26

    30. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Up 8ish. Tea & toast and out to Manchester by the Sea with Ally. About an hour drive. More road works but did fine. Parked for an hour and walk around. Started very cloudy and had been raining but sun soon came out. Very pretty town.

    Went looking for replacement hat and in one shop, lady told us she has been to Manchester and experienced beans on toast in Warrington! She told us where to buy hat so we found quite easily. Also bought fridge magnet.

    Had quick drive around then to Singing Beach. Looked beautiful in the sunshine but they were charging for carpark and to get on the beach so we didn't bother. There was hardly anyone around except the money collectors! Parked on the road on 2 hour limit then went for lunch.
    Went to Cala and had haddock sandwich/club/pizza - all very nice then headed back to the car. Got $35 ticket for pointing in the wrong direction. Sickening!

    Drove home via liquor store looking for John's current favourite wine Sebastiani but they didn't have it.

    Shopped at Hannafords then home 2.30. Had tea and cake brought by friendly neighbour this morning.

    Made big lasagne for tea then sat and had beer outside.

    Andy asked about warm spot in kitchen ceiling John most interested in investigating! Later discovered permanently heated pads - fire hazard.

    More chat. Bed 10ish    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 25

    29. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Didn't wake up properly till 9am.

    Pottered and did some shopping. More chatting.

    Had sandwich for lunch then out to Portsmouth No sun today and a little bit chilly near the sea. Nice town - has grown and is more commercialised. Lots of bars and restaurants but all pretty quiet. Looked at Strawberry Bank but $20 each to get in and it looked really quiet so we didn't bother. Had drive along the coast. Very pretty and some beautiful houses.

    Stopped at Lowe's shop to look for small garden table, yard brush, pan scourers and plastic wine glasses. Success in all but the glasses. Home 4.30 and made cottage pie for tea.

    Ally struggling with some aspects of the new house - water is awful and needs special filtering, need treatment to disperse supposedly dangerous radon gas. Garden is a wilderness - much work to do but location is good.

    Had beer outside watching and listening to humming bird. Lovely.

    Had wine & tea and yet more chat. Bed 10ish    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 24

    28. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Awake early and up 6.30. Quick shower and final pack then very swish taxi at 7.15. Miles too early so hanging about at airport.

    Flight 10ish. Landed 12.30ish. Bags quick then went to pick up car. No problem - we took all the extra insurances.

    Easy drive to Ally's new house in Stratham. They only moved in a week ago so there is much work to do. It will be lovely. They wanted to move somewhere with a bit more life, a bit less druggy, public transport and a bit less cold in the winter. They also have public transport nearby and their rubbish is collected! John's job is moving to Manchester NH in February which will be half hour drive each way.

    Chatted the afternoon away. Charlie came home from first day at school.
    John came home from first day commuting to Meredith for the time being.

    Matt has just gone to college in Montreal and Natalie in Carolina.

    Had beer, wine, lovely food and good chat.

    Bed 10ish.    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 23

    27. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Slept till 8.30 ish. Tea, biscuits and out to Arlington National Memorial cemetery.

    Metro station closed for weekend work so got bus to Foggy Bottom 😀😀then metro to Arlington. Quite easy - people around for guidance but they weren't there yesterday!

    Went round on tour bus because the place is huge. Almost 1/2 million graves here and it's expanding to make room for more. 'Inurnment' new word on us! Guide pointed out places of interest. More reminders of the horrors of war. Unknown soldier, various presidents, Pentagon 9/11, Lockerbie etc.

    Went for bite to eat at cafe in park - turkey sandwich & pizza.

    Then to Holocaust Museum - another enormous place on 4 floors. Couldn't face all the reading so headed home 3.30ish for cup of tea.

    We find the museums here hard work - very little interactive, very few videos, no guided listening tours. Too much reading.

    Maid wanted to clean room so out again. Walked around block and found lots of bars and restaurants. Reminded us of Chorlton - buzzing with people enjoying Sunday afternoon sunshine.

    Back for wine hour 5pm. Asked reception to print directions for tomorrow - should only be half hourish drive to Ally's new house.

    Like this hotel very much. Would definitely stay here again.

    Back to Stoney's 6.30. Same girl serving - very friendly. Had crab sandwich and Cajun cheddar $60 inc beer. Really nice.

    Home 8ish. Glass wine & tv    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 22

    26. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Restless sleep - time change again but not too bad.

    Tea and out 9ish. Tried to get metro to meeting point for tour - couldn't find entrance! Eventually realised gates were locked so got taxi.

    Put money on metro cards then met up with tour. Little electric buggies. We had the 'celebrity seats' facing backwards. Not ideal but ok.

    Toured all over city with a couple of walking bits to look at major monuments. Guide very good.

    Monuments and memorials are spectacular - they can build big and impressive stuff but they cant build history!

    All major museums run by Smithsonian Institute - Smithson was rich Englishman who had never been to the US but he approved of US principles. He promised his money to his nephew on condition that he produced an heir. He didn't so the money went to the US.

    Went to American History museum - enormous place but far too much about wars. Quite depressing really. Then to sculpture park - clever house that changed perspective as we walked past it.

    Back to hotel 4.30. Cup of tea then wine hour 5.15.

    Has 3 glasses of wine and 1 sangria (waiter was going to throw it away) then off to Stoneys pub 6.30.

    Few beers, crab cake & burger $80 inc tip then home 9.30. Watched Pretty Woman (1990!) and couple of wines.    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 21

    25. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Phone call at 4.30am from Virgin Media. Grrr.
    Up 7.30 and packed. Out for breakfast. Streets reasonably quiet and temperature pleasant.

    Went to FatBar - not the usual menu on the table. Only burgers. Asked what's available for breakfast. Answer - nothing because they are expecting hordes of people for the boxing match tomorrow. Went to Hard Rock - sat upstairs outside. Nice acoustic guitar music. Had scrambled egg/bacon/sausage/home fries & toast. All quite nice.

    Back to check out and taxi to airport. All fine and plenty of time.

    Luxor was ok but very tired. Hated the smell as soon as we opened the bedroom door - trying to keep air clean and smoke free but it was horrible. Didn't notice it in any of the other hotels. So difficult to manoeuvre way from a to b - traffic on the street busy so lots of bridges but too much like hard work. If we ever came back, would stay somewhere more centra - New York, Mirage maybe.

    We've settled into the madness of the city but quite relieved to be leaving it. I don't think I want to go back.

    Flight to Washington 4 hours. Had sandwich $9.99 and one free beer. No option to buy anything else's during the flight but we were fine. Landed early but had to wait for bags then shuttle to hotel. $24 for two people - quite cheap. 3 hours later here so now we were thirsty!

    Checked into Kimpton Rouge at 10ish. Lovely place and great receptionist. She gave us maps, guides and metro tix to save us $2 initial fee. Guided us to Stoney's bar round the corner. Shared a pizza which was nice. Bar was s bit noisy but only to be expected at 11pm on a Friday night. We will be back.

    Temperature very pleasant and lovely to walk down street without dodging people.

    Tried to buy bottle of wine but 11.30 by now so went home to bed. Beautiful room.    Les mer

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    Day 20

    24. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Up 8ish. Tea & biscuits from buffet yesterday.

    Out on Deuce to Fremont Experience - the original Las Vegas. Bus very busy and took ages. Fremont is a dump. Might look better at night when the lights are twinkling but it's decidedly grotty in the day time. Lot of dodgy looking people around.
    Had brunch in Hennessys pub - club sandwich and omelette. Coffee and hottish water & teabag with free refill. €35.

    Back on bus - home at 1pm. Not impressed. We had intended to go last night but the endless pour had other ideas!

    Regroup, checked in for tomorrow, shower and out.

    Got cash, booked for Bronx Wanderers show for 5.30 tonight - $118 for two.

    Had couple of beers - one $10 back street. Ridiculously expensive.
    Went into casino with $30 flutter money gift from Dave & Sue. We only know roulette so went to quiet table. Minimum bet $15 so lost our money in 2 spins. Ouch.

    Then to Geordano's. Looked really expensive but happy hour so only $6ish for two. People next to us had HUGE deep pizza and we were quite envious. It looked delicious. Next news, the guy said they had ordered too much and offered us half the pizza. We said take it with you but they were off to a show. We offered some payment but they wouldn't accept it so we took the pizza and demolished it. The biggest, deepest pizza I've ever seen and it was lovely.

    Off to show 5.30. Vinny Adinolfi is the star. He was a record producer for some big names in his day and now has show with his sons. Was really good - musicians and singing were excellent Only lasted 1.5 hours so done by 7pm.

    Went to New York bar. Singer on there and band after he finished. Both very good. Pleasant evening.

    Home 10.30. Glass of wine and bed.    Les mer

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    Day 19

    23. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C

    Up 7am. Picked up 8.15 for Grand Canyon trip. 6 + pilot per helicopter. Used birthday vouchers from Anne, Peter and Chris to pay for part of trip - special birthday outing.

    40 mins flight across Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. Spectacular landscape and enormous, beautiful lake. Pilot Jake told us about points of interest. Landed in the bottom of the canyon and had fizz and cake (champagne picnic - mmmm). Amusing that picnic benches set up in the canyon and cheeky squirrels and chipmunks come looking for crumbs. 30 min stop then back via refuelling station plonked in the desert. Absolutely amazing trip - really enjoyed it. Bit nervous about first trip in helicopter but we were fine and flight very smooth.

    Back to hotel for tea and regroup then out again 1ish.

    Bought 24 hour Deuce bus tix $8 each - need to save our legs a bit! Went to CIrcus Circus. More old fashioned style casino with proper slot machines and coin pushers. Andy pushed a few coins over and won a pile of tickets. Worth 132 points - enough for a little toy for Nell and some sweets. Biggest win we had!

    Watched a balancing act then had a beer.

    Started to rain so rushed to Wynn for buffet lunch. Huge array of food and new dishes kept appearing. Had several plates and had good value from the 'endless pour'. Very drunk and since discovered my Ballast Point beer is 7 percent! Andy stayed on Stella at 4.8.

    Got Deuce back and went in casino. Andy went to watch a couple of games of craps and I dozed off at the bar. Security lady came to check on me - shows that they are watching all the time.

    Asleep by 9.30.    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 18

    22. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Hard to settle in yet another bed. Chilly in the night so pulled covers back on.

    Up 9ish. Window cleaner with a head for heights outside - abseiling down the pyramid!

    Out looking for lions - mmmm. Old guide book so didn't realise lions long gone! Already tired legs so fed up.

    Went to check on tix for Rod Stewart - min $112 on desk so went to box office. Lowest price $65 in the gods for 1.5 hour show. Decided against.

    Went to fat burger 12ish. Asked for bacon/sausage butty but they said breakfast finished at 11. They served us yesterday! Had burger & beer watching strip. Lot of people earning living from dressing as show girls or superheroes. Quite sad really.

    Went to Mirage to see dolphins. $22 each to get in but quiet inside. Had beer - very large!! Not much going on with dolphins but also area got lions, tigers, leopards, cheetah. Quite entertaining.

    Then to big wheel (high roller) via Venetian. Quite liked this place - Rialto Bridge, St Marks Sq, Bridge of Sighs & gondolas.

    Wheel $25 for 30 mins. Quite good but can't possibly be high enough to see well.

    Then to bar for happy hour beers near wheel. $5. Watched people again.

    Then to Beerhaus outside New York for Party in Park.
    Beer $5 and fabulous live band. Had ribs/chicken cob salad and few beers. Chatted to couple going to show. They'd started on Margaritas at 2pm. She was smashed and he was not feeling good!

    Enjoyed the music. Got monorail home 10.30. Long day !    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 17

    21. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Woke up 7ish. Good sleep again. Tea and final pack.

    Checked out 8.15am - we paid for P & V. Total cost about $900. A lot of money but they were so hospitable with us and saved us lots of $.

    Airport 9ish. Higher security than expected - gave Andy thorough check. Sniffer dog in queue.

    Flight 11ish.

    Flight to Vegas only an hour. Airport very near strip. Checked in fine and went to room. The hotel is enormous.....went through casino - garish carpets and bright lights. On 11th floor of famous Luxor pyramid. Room pretty big but a bit tired. No kettle or fridge!! Bad news for me! It's cheap and the lack of facilities explains why.

    Unpacked then out to strip. Hot but not unbearable. Looked for Bank because ATM in hotel charges $8 to withdraw cash. Didn't find so went for beer in Fatbar. Had bacon/sausage/egg butty and a beer. Very nice and quite cheap.

    Bought mini immersion heater for $16 and milk for €3.75 - much cheaper than buying coffee from Starbucks or similar!

    Went into Tropicana for beer - similar garish carpet.

    Then walked/monorail to famous Las Vegas sign. Queues for photos then Elvis arrived with music pack on his belt. Amusing.

    Home for tea and bit of hand washing 5.30pm.

    As expected, will take a while to adjust to this town!

    Out 7.30ish. Dusk and getting very busy. Went to German bar - quite nice then walked to Belaggio to watch the fountains. A bit disappointed really - they didn't do much and we've seen better. Think we must have missed something or they weren't working properly. Tried Double Barrel bar - closed for private function. Tried Beer Garden - closed for private function. Walked miles again and aimed for steak bar we'd seen this afternoon. On 4th floor and no menu visible so didn't bother. Went back to Irish bar in New York - bought beer and tried to sit away from music but they said diners only. We said we might be dining but they weren't interested so we drank beer and left. Went for pizza slices in New York cafe - about $25 and very nice.

    Bought bottle of wine for $30 and back to room 11ish. Tired legs!    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 16

    20. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Up 4am. Andy out 5am for San Diego 'Finest City' half marathon. V and friends also doing it.

    I met Paul 6.30 and we walked to finish - took about an hour.

    Cloudy but warm.

    V finished just over 2 hours and Andy PW.

    Walked back to hotel - seemed to take forever! Sunny and warm now.

    Hour to regroup then met 11.30. Had a beer & chicken sandwich/burger then out to Coronado island. Very gentile seaside town. Coronado hotel right beside the sea built 1878 - very grand and atmospheric.
    Had icecream/coffee and sat around for a while.

    Drove back across fabulous Coronado bridge - 2 miles long.

    Back for rest and pack 3.30.

    Met 5.30 - P & V took us to La Jolla. Very pleasant seaside town. Dinner at George's. Had calamares/octopus and tacos/grilled chicken. All quite nice but not spectacular. Service v quick. Waiter 'Hope you're having a good day. How can I make it better'. Yuk. V had glass wine and got chopsy - teasing waiters.

    Then walk down to ocean. Hundreds of sea lions playing in the sea and on the beach.

    Back to hotel and couple drinks in the bar. V had another glass of wine and gave us her political views!

    Bed 10.30.    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 15

    19. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Up 8.30. Another pretty good sleep.

    Tea and fruit for breakfast. Sorted bags, played with dogs and watched garden life. Really beautiful but there is nothing to do here. Everything is so far away! Their house really is fabulous but there is awful lot of their money tied up in it. They both seem to be doing well with their businesses and market conditions and the economy pretty buoyant.

    Had turkey, cheese, avocado, tomato sandwich (V does make some very very nice sandwiches!) then hung around a bit more.

    Left Fallbrook 3ish then hour or so drive to Sam Diego. Parked easily at hotel. Unpacked whilst Andy & V checked in for race and went for coffee.

    Well earned couple of beers 5.30 - local 'craft' beer all $8.

    Had expensive 'pasta party' in hotel. $30 each. Lovely soup then salads, 4 different sorts of pasta (very little meat or fish in any of them) but tasted ok. One beer each.

    Fruit salad with chilli flakes for pudding. New one on me but V says not unusual in this part of the world near Mexico.

    Took some cakes for breakfast.

    Not impressed with hotel. It looks lovely but have to pay $12 per day for wifi, concierge didn't seem to know there is a shop on site when Andy asked about milk and cereal bar for pre race breakfast. Fortunately V been here before so she knew about little shop. Place seems disorganised. Aircon doesn't seem to work and there is a $25 cleaning charge if you store own stuff in fridge. Bought tiny bottle milk & 2 flapjacky things in hotel shop = $12. Ouch.

    Stroll after meal then back to room 9ish. Full of pasta!

    A bit disappointed that have hardly seen anything of town but P & V don't seem to rate it. On the positive side, our legs have had a good rest!    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 14

    18. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Up 8.30 after pretty good sleep once I'd settled. Had tea/fruit/weetabix - all left for us by V. P & V gone to do some work. Wandered around the estate and took pics. Paul then back so we returned car. All seems fine but girl mentioned mark on bumper. She said we're not liable because we had full cover but we certainly didn't do it.

    Paul told us about fires 10 years ago - area had to be evacuated. Has been drought in recent years but much rain last winter so has eased.

    Sat watching humming birds, beautifully coloured butterflies, turtles, coi, avocados, pomegranates, tomatoes - very fertile land.

    Had tuna sandwich Virginia style (delicious) then out 2ish.

    45 min drive to Dana harbour where boat is. Had tea/coffee in harbour cafe then to boat. 41ft cruiser 7.41 twin engine with bedroom/cooker/tv. Took over an hour to get it ready - clean off bird poo etc then 45 min spin in Pacific Ocean then over an hour to wash it down again afterwards Lovely place, lots of seals & seabirds. Huge harbour and beautiful seaside homes. Serious money here!

    Left about 7pm - tea in nearby seaside restaurant Had fish & chips & club sandwich & 2 beers. Quite nice P & V beat us to the bill.

    Home 10ish. Cake & 2 glasses wine. Told them our big news on strict instructions not to it it anywhere near FB!

    Bed 11.30    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 13

    17. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Woke up 7.30. Good sleep so feel fine.

    Tea & pack then out for early walk. Sunny morning and streets being jet washed.

    Busy but manageable. Saw stars foot & handprints outside Chinese theatre.

    Got blueberry muffin from 7/11 then back for final pack.

    Checked out 9.50 and waited for car hire man. Didn't come so concierge chased. Said he's been and gone. Eventually came and drove us to office.

    Set off in car 11ish and followed signs and sat nav. Traffic not too bad once outside city. Got to Fallbrook 1ish then but of a merry go round to find house. Arrived just as Paul pulling up.

    Had beer & chat & chicken & Vietnamese salad sandwich. V nice.

    Out to look at their latest project house. Huge long house they are totally renovating.

    Back to house and sat outside with beer watching sun go down. Whole place is beautifully finished.

    Had cold meat & cheese followed by huge steak & baked potato. Far too much. Then sort of bread & butter pudding. Lovely.

    Couple of glasses of wine sitting outside by fabulous gas fire pit/table then bed 11.00.    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 12

    16. august 2017, Forente stater ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Up 5am for final packing. Sydney has been great and we were so lucky with the weather.

    Bus to airport 6ish. No problem with check in and security so now very early. Had fruit & buns & pancakes for breakfast.

    Took off 10.30amish. Had g & t & few glasses of wine. Andy had dahl & brisket sandwich and I had slivers of trout & pork fillet & rice. Lovely. Tried to sleep but no chance because it's still daytime for us. Flight was about 12 hours and we landed 6.30am which was 1.30am tomorrow for us. Weird to go back in time like that. We landed 4 hours before we took off!

    Bungled our way through immigration and customs. Took about an hour which was pretty good. Limo waiting and that took another hour to reach hotel in rush hour. Couldn't believe how incredibly grotty the drive was. Very grubby and run down. Loews Hotel lovely though and we could check in which was great. Room with a view of the Hollywood sign without paying extra!

    Had strong coffee then out for walk along the Walk of Fame. Again, grubby and sleazy. Streets were dirty. Went to look for car hire office via back street. Felt dangerous - settees out on street, dodgy looking people around. Gave up and came back to hotel.

    Went in restaurant and had omelette and bacon & egg. $50 inc tip.

    Asked hotel to ring car hire place to ask them to pick us up tomorrow. All fine.

    Sat by pool for a rest. Still only 12.15! Not comfortable enough to sleep so went across road to 'Tinhorn Flats' pub. Proper diner inside. Had local lager $9 for 2 so had another.

    Back to hotel for 1 hour sleep - necessary!!

    Out again 4ish for walk the other way. Very busy with fascinated people taking photos of the names in stars on the floor.

    Had beers in Jameson Irish bar $9 for 2 so we had another! Watched life on the street. All of life is here - hippies, dropouts, vagrants, misfits but feels Ok tonight. Not aggressive or confrontational at all. Quite high security presence moving the vagrants on but they didn't go far.

    Went to Italian cafe for tea. Lasagna & carbonara & bottle Bud $30. Barman very much into English football so we had to sound knowledgeable and join in.

    Back to 'Flats' for last beer, quick look at street lighting up then home 8.30. Looks a bit more glitzy with the neon lights.

    Lots of beautiful houses up on the hills but the town of Hollywood is really grotty. Glad we've seen it but would't come back.

    Glass wine then bed.    Les mer

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  • DooWhitt toursBig Trip 2017DooWhitt tours

    Day 11

    15. august 2017, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Up 7.30 to do washing and start packing.

    Can't believe it's raining today! Not what we planned.

    Booked airport bus for tomorrow and confirmed pick up in LA.

    All sorted by 11ish.

    Out to museum Hyde Park Barracks. Very interesting 3 floors of life since 1800 ish. Convicts slept here and worked during the day and later the building became immigration centre and home for desperate women. Clever people made a lot of money. Rocks became home for immigrants escaping desperate conditions in UK. Great opportunities but lots of vagabonds to deal with! Conditions dire but often better than at home.
    Out to courtyard and inviting cafe. Rain stopped so sat outside and had brisket & chicken pie and tea/coffee €32. Really enjoyed all of it.

    Left 1.30ish. Bus to Bondi Beach came quickly. Walked to Coogee beach via Bronte beach. All lovely but no nicer than other walks along cliffs. Saw lots of colourful birds and a kookaburra. Quite challenging with lots of steps up and down. Probably good day to do this walk because weather not great. Can imagine very busy on sunny day.

    Bus back from Coogee. Very easy. Finished packing then quick jug in Porterhouse 6.15. Meal at Pasta Emilia - very close and we needed something other than chips! Had Peroni then pâté & antipasto then mixed rolled meat (pork, lamb beef with roasted veg) and sausagemeat & pasta. Bottle wine should have been $45 but they didn't charge us for it. Bill was $141 (£85ish). inc tip but no wine! Lovely music - lady playing Spanish guitar and double bass.

    Bought $10 bottle with wine so home 9pm.

    Love this city. Nice people and fortunately fantastic winter weather. Would definitely come back to Sydney and the Cambridge Hotel.    Les mer

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